Dear Family and Friends, Monday, August 26, 2013 at
11:24 a.m.
Well this last week went
alright. It was a little bit tough for me because I have been thinking about my
friend, Kreg, a lot. But other than that things have been well.
Monday
We hiked Mt. Mansfield. It was
a great hike. I wish I could send some pictures, but we have been emailing at
Johnson State College lately and they dont let you send pictures. It was great
to be up there and look out over the whole state. It was a little bit smoky
from forest fires out west, but we could see just past lake Champlain. After
our hike we went to a part member family for dinner and then we played a fun
game that was a face card version of Sorry. It was a lot of fun.
Tuesday
We taught Denise. Denise has
been doing better. We have been going over and just reading the Book of Mormon
with her. Last time she wanted to just keep reading and reading, so we read 3
or 4 chapters. After that we visited a few people Ken has been listening
to the Book of Mormon on tape which is a big step for him. We have been going
over and we just do some service for him and then we talk about what he has
learned. Last week I helped him do some work on his minivan. His starter went
out and his son couldnt figure out how to change it. So I helped him take it
out. His son had problems with the top bolt which was right next to the
engine mount. He wasnt able to get a combination wrench on it so he gave
up. His son didnt have very good tools at all. I miss my nice tool
set back home. Luckily I found a 12 point thinwall socket
that fit between the bolt and the mount. The ratchet was terrible and I could
barely get it to work. There was a big storm rolling in and I was worried
I wouldnt get it out before it hit, but I got it out and right when we went in
the house it started down pouring. It was pretty great to be able to get my
hands all greasy again, and be able to help someone we are teaching. After that
we taught Kirby and Wendy. Kirby is also doing well. We taught CPR
(Church, Pray, Read) to him and his wife last week. It went excellent and Kirby
is already in Alma in the Book of Mormon. Once he finishes it he will think
about baptism.
Wednesday
We did some service for a less
active, Allen. We helped him split some wood and put it in the
basement. Out here since everybody uses wood for fuel everyone uses wood
splitters. As missionaries we cant operate the splitter, so his nephew Tristen
split the wood and we tossed it into the basement. I had never seen a splitter
and it is a handy bit of machinery. Basically all theres a
lawnmower engine that runs a hydraulic pump. Then theres one
hydraulic piston that pushes the wood into a wedge to split the wood. A
lot better than splitting it by hand. After that we taught Denise a little bit
and talked to some of her friends, and then we met with the bishop.
Thursday
We didnt do too much. Our
dinner appointment cancelled, so instead of going to Waterville we stayed in
Johnson. We visited a few people after district meeting and not much happened.
Friday
We had weekly planning. Then we
helped Dave, a member fill sandbags with dirt. He is making a little
root cellar in the side of the hill near his house. After that we had
dinner Elliot and Shekhina's house. They are a little bit hippie so
most of the stuff they eat is vegetarian and nasty, so they made us French
toast instead, which was pretty good. They also gave us some really good corn.
Everybody out here is against GMO's (Genetically Modified Organisms) and nobody
will eat food that has had fertilizers or any other chemicals sprayed on
it. Olathe Sweet Sweet Corn is genetically modified which is one of the reasons
why it tastes so good. Elliot said that he had no idea why the corn tasted so
good. I said that it probably was a GMO food.
Saturday
We had an apartment inspection.
That was pretty fun. A senior couple that works at the Joseph Smith Memorial
drove up here to inspect our truck and apartment. When they pulled up the first
thing they asked was, "Where is your car? It says Nissan Frontier on here,
but I dont see a car." I pointed at the truck, they were all surprised and
said, "You drive a truck?" "Yup!" It was pretty funny. They
told us we need to fix a few things in the apartment. The bathroom is unfinished
and they told us we need to paint the walls, even though its been like that for
the last 15 years that missionaries have lived there. After that we had dinner
at the Jewetts. We helped them split and stack some of their wood.
Sunday
We had church. After that we
went to Lunch/Dinner at the Cochran's house. Then we taught Adam and Faith.
Adam and Faith are also doing great. We have now taught them everything they
need to know before baptism. On Sunday we taught them about keeping the Sabbath
Day Holy. We brought Jim with us and he bore some great testimony. This
family is so great! We moved their date back to October 5, 2013 so that we have
some time to teach their 8 year old daugter, Bella who isnt usually there for
the lessons.
Elder CWJensen